Watch live as Thame features in Local Plan Inspection

THE public examination of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2034 enters its fourth and final week today, with discussions set to focus mostly on the district’s three market towns, including Thame, and Didcot Garden Town.

This afternoon the discussion will focus on Thame, with Graeme Markland, Thame Town Council’s Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Officer, speaking on behalf of Thame Council.

The Thame discussion will start at around 2pm. Follow this link to view the session:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqkWzwYllfc

Shortage of Employment Land in Thame

At an earlier session of the hearing, Graeme Markland addressed the Inspector, Mr Bore, on the matter of the amount of Employment Land designated in the plan for Thame. Mr Markland said that he welcomed an increase in the amount of employment land given to Thame in the plan from 1.6ha to 3.5ha, but explained that it remains inadequate given the loss of job opportunities across Thame in recent years (estimated to be over 690) much because of Permitted Development (where offices etc can be turned into flats without planning permission, such as the Angus Fire Armour building) and an increase in out-commuting. He said that the evidence was that Thame would need 10 hectares of similar employment land as that at Rycote Lane, to take the town back to where it was in 2012.

Potential jobs for Thame lost

Cllr Mike Dyer spoke about how various businesses had moved out of Thame, taking jobs with them, because they could find no where to expand into, and other businesses had wanted to come to Thame, but no suitable premises were available.

Sustainable access to neighbouring Haddenham ‘pulled’

Graeme Markland also raised the problem of the Local Plan building in an imbalance between employment and housing land in Thame.  He pointed out that the Aylesbury – Oxford bus, much talked up by developers and the District was not a panacea, that sustainable access to Haddenham Parkway had just been put in doubt by the pulling of funding for the Greenway, and that is was not a route for anything other than hardened utility riders with a high level of fitness.

You can view Graeme Markland’s presentation, followed on by Cllr Mike Dyer – at around 4.45, HERE